Green for Green
by Evil Salmon1
Summary: PRSPD, set during the events in “Wired”. Sky seemed a little too pleased to be laying the expulsion smackdown on Sophie, even for a “selfrighteous, pigheaded, egodriven ranger” like Sky. My brain ran with it. SkyBridge. SLASH! zomg, run!
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

_1. Haha! Admire my clever, punny title!_

_2. I do not own PRSPD; BVE does. BVE is owned by Disney, however, and I did work for Disney. So technically, as creative property, this fic belongs to Disney anyway. Hmph._

_3. I'm rather new to the fandom and without a beta. Most of my friends are either A) too unfamiliar with PR to serve as a good beta or B) reacting violently to my sudden interest in PR. (__"What are you? 5?") So if anyone wants to volunteer, I would be most appreciative and more than happy to return the favor. Shoot me an email. Reviews and input will earn you Bridge-shaped cookies and my eternal love. Ciao._

_

* * *

_**Chapter 1: Blue v. Green, Round 1  
**_  
_

Sky sat on his bed, mulling over some performance evaluations for the D Squad cadets.

Bridge sat on his head, mulling over giant gophers and something similar to Sky's thoughts.

"Hey Sky," the green ranger called, blinking as he focused his upside-down gaze on his roommate. "What do you think about Sophie?"

The blue ranger nodded his head slightly in approval. "I think I agree with your recommendation to make her a computer intern at the command center. She's pretty competent, for a member of D Squad." Saying so, Sky signed off on Bridge's recommendation, shut the metal notebook and added it to the small pile of notebooks that had already met with Sky's approval.

"No … well, yeah, that's true," Bridge responded, nodded his head as much as he could form his position. "But I mean, you know, as a person."

Sky frowned slightly as he moved onto the last notebook sitting to his right. "I'm hardly surprised to hear myself say this, but I don't follow." He flipped the notebook open and started to skim his notes on the next cadet. Once he finished looking over this, he could send them off to Jack for his final O.K. Then maybe he could hit the gym for a second bout of training exercise.

"You know," Bridge answered with light whine to his voice. "Like, as a girl, or a friend, or a … "

Sky blinked in surprise. Blue eyes shot up to fix on his roommate, and he could barely hide the shift in his voice as his throat clenched in shock. "Girlfriend?"

Bridge blushed slightly, or maybe it was just the blood rushing to his head from being upside-down so long. "Yeah, maybe. But probably more as just a friend first."

The blue ranger continued to stare at Bridge in silence. _Well, duh Sky. He's a guy. She's a girl. She's fairly pretty and knows a lot about computers. Of course Bridge would form a crush on her. He hasn't really talked about any girls, or guys, before. It would be weird if he didn't show some interest in others. Romantic interest._

"Uh, Sky?"

_Then why are you flipping out? Why are you having this mental monologue? Why is Bridge staring at you like that? Oh, yeah, you're supposed to be talking._

"Huh?"

"Sophie. As a friend. Who is a girl. And may become a girlfriend. What do you think?"

Sky coughed to loosen the tightening in his throat and moved his gaze back to the evaluation before him, although the words didn't make any sense to him. "She's not my type."

Bridge laughed and flipped over, repositioning himself to the edge of his bunk. "Not you. Me." The green ranger sucked softly on his bottom lip as he waited for Sky's response. He desperately wanted his friend's honest opinion. He rarely — make that _never_ – went after girls. He always overanalyzed the situation and lost his chance in doing so, or chickened out. But he felt something different in Sophie. He wanted to reach out to her. But he needed some reinforcement and some assistance. After all, he'd never done this before. He didn't want to mess up royally.

Sky continued to stare at the evaluation in front of him for a long time, considering the situation. He had honestly never thought about Bridge dating. He had never seen the need to consider what girls would be good for him or not. He wasn't Bridge's wingman! Suddenly, sincere confusion became annoyance. Sky was trying to do work here. Important, S.P.D. work. Well, semi-important. And Bridge was asking him about girls? Bridge was his roommate and his teammate. He had never asked for this kind of assistance from Sky before. Why did he think that Sky could suddenly become the dating guru for him? This wasn't in his job description!

"There are consequences to dating within S.P.D." Sky found himself speaking without thinking about from where the words had come. "The handbook states, section 6, article 5.2, that while cadet/ranger fraternization is not prohibited, strict disciplinary actions will be enforced should said fraternization interfere in any way with cadet/ranger performance. Futhermore, section 6, article 5.4 states that relationship that influences cadet/ranger standing within performance rankings will result in immediate suspension and/or expulsion." The blue ranger paused in his diatribe, glancing briefly up to see the hurt and confused expression on Bridge's face. He immediately went back to the review, placing his signature at the bottom of the page. "If you begin a romantic relationship with Sophie, I'm afraid your recommendation for her internship would be invalidated, and you could both potentially be kicked out."

"Sky," Bridge started softly. "Don't rulebook me. You know this has nothing to do with Sophie interning at the command center. You know I wouldn't do something like that."

The blue ranger shut the notebook with a sharp snap, angrily throwing it into the four other metal pieces. "What am I supposed to say? I'm not some kind of ladies' man! What do I look like? Jack?"

Bridge considered his friend quietly, then stood and reached for the notebooks. "Not a bad idea, Sky."

"What?" Tate frowned and watched Bridge. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to bring these to Jack, since you're done with them, and ask his opinion, since I'm done listening to yours."

Sky noted the stiffness in Bridge's body as he strode out the door of their dorm, notebooks in arm and gaze firmly focused forward. He knew that what he had said had not been the best thing to say, but now the realization of how he had hurt his roommate suddenly broke over him like a wave of guilt.

_Damn it, Tate, what did you do?_


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: **_Thanks for reviewing! For some reason I didn't get an email telling me people had commented and I got all sad because I thought no one had read. But now I am happy._

_Power Rangers Central lists Jack's special ability as 'acquiring targets'._

_

* * *

_**Chapter 2: Blue v. Red**

Sky stalked down the halls of the dormitory section of the academy. Younger cadets who crossed his path cowered away from the imposing figure dressed in blue and black, and even staff much older than the young man shuffled away and dropped their gaze to the floor. Schuyler Tate was on a mission, and the whole of S.P.D. knew to get out of his way.

Finally arriving at his destination, the blue ranger squared himself in front of the doorway. Lifting a hand, he jabbed at the ringer to alert the occupant that someone was outside, and at the sound of "Come in!" he zoomed through the doorway and got straight to business.

"So, what'd you tell him? Flowers, chocolates, romantic dinner?"

Jack frowned and blinked hard as he looked up from his magazine. "What?"

"Bridge. What foolish advice did you give him for talking to Sophie?" The blue ranger was a foot away from Jack now, hands clasped tightly behind his back and looking as if he were berating a cadet for having an untidy uniform, not talking to the red ranger about dating advice.

"Would you calm down, man? I don't see how this is any business of yours."

"Bridge is my business!" Sky growled, earning two raised eyebrows from the former thief. Realizing how that statement sounded, Sky shut his eyes, took a deep breath to steady himself, and tried again. "He's our teammate and my roommate. If you get him into a relationship with a fellow cadet, not only are there all kinds of rules potentially being broken, but I'm the one who's going to have to deal with him swooning over her when they're good and listening to him mope when they're bad. I refuse to have that kind of liability in the team and I refuse to have that kind of annoyance in my roommate."

Jack shook his head in frustration, shutting his magazine and standing up to face down the blue ranger. Sky had several inches on him, but it didn't stop the shorter man from forcing eye contact. "Teammate and roommate? What about 'friend', Sky? Bridge wanted your advice, as a friend, and you pushed him away. Don't you want him to be happy?"

"What, with some blundering D Squad cadet?" Sky knew that Sophie could hardly be described as 'blundering' – she was the best in her squad – but he was angry and looking for any means of tearing her down.

"With anybody!" Jack responded, throwing up his arms to signify the space around them. "We're not all perfect rangers-in-training like you Sky! We need human interaction! Male or female, romantic or friendly, we need some kind of contact outside of the squad and our superiors! Bridge feels like maybe there could be something with him and Sophie. He wants to go after it. Why do you have a problem with that?"

Anger, frustration, confusion and something else kept pulling at Sky's insides, forcing him to shout back at Jack, "BECAUSE, he's … "

_Because he's MINE!_

Some corner of Sky's brain was shouting, chanting the phrase over and over. _Mine, mine, mine!_ But the blue ranger fiercely bit his lip to stop himself from saying what he would definitely regret. Especially if said in front of Jack. Another deep breath, and he tried again. "Because he's my teammate and my roommate, as I said before."

Jack was watching his fellow ranger closely, brow knitting as he observed the slowly whitening bottom lip and tense frame of Sky. Not that Sky wasn't always tense, but this was a different kind. Like there was something going on inside of him that was about to burst out without warning. Suddenly, something clicked in the back of Jack's mind. He fought to keep a smirk off his face, instead simply lifting a brow. "Jealous much?" he chirped. The fierce glare that statement earned from the blue ranger was enough to confirm Jack's suspicions.

"What?" Sky spat out.

"Nothing, man. It's just, the last time I saw you this heated was … oh yeah, when you found out I was going to be the red ranger, and not you." Now Jack let the smirk show, gazing at his teammate with undisguised amusement.

Sky was speechless for a few seconds, brain scrambling to take in what Jack said and what his brain was yelling and still make a coherent response. "You're crazy," he growled finally. "And out of line!"

Jack's smirk grew to a grin as he shrugged his shoulders and moved back to his bed. "If you say so. If it's not true, then I apologize for making assumptions and won't mention it again." Stretching out on his bunk and grabbing for his magazine, Jack fixed Sky with a cool, brown-eyed look. "But if it is true…"

Sky glared at Jack for a few seconds longer, then let out an incoherent growl of frustration and stormed out of the red ranger's room.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: **_So I haven't finished watching all of the series, so I'm not sure how Bridge's psychic powers work exactly. I'm not sure they even full elaborate on them in the series. I made my own theory on what goes on under Bridge's gloves after reading Blackie Frogz "Ramblings of a Me". It works for my story, so I'm going with it. :-p Also, I'm going on the assumption that S.P.D. is somehow like Hogwarts and folks like Bridge, Sky and Syd were enrolled when they were 11. With Bridge making statements indicating that he is 21, that means Bridge, Sky and Syd have been together for 10 years._

_Thank you to my reviewers! You make me smile with my heart! Luff. Also, I hope to write another chapter tomorrow (or today, depending on your time zone, as it's 11:21pm right now) and get it posted._

_

* * *

_

**Chapter 3: Blue v. Green, Round 2**

"This is crazy," Sky muttered to himself as he stormed down the halls again, retracing his steps back to his room. "And Jack's crazy. Mad. Psychotic. Why am I letting this get to me?"

He halted in the middle of the hallway, an idea clicking into form in his brain like a light bulb. Okay, so Bridge wanting to date someone was getting to him, for what reason he had not figured out yet, but he was not about to let Jack get a laugh out of it. The easiest way around this would be to act totally calm. Go talk to Bridge. Give him some generic advice. Bridge would forgive him without Sky ever even having to say he was sorry, and Jack would have nothing to back up his jealousy claim. Bridge would probably screw things up with Sophie anyway, or back out in fear, or never make a move in the first place. Or be too busy for a girlfriend. Yeah. It would be easier to figure out why he was stressing over Bridge if Jack was out of the picture. If he had a week to acclimate himself to the whole Bridge and Sophie idea, he could repress his emotions until he was over it and everything would be fine. But Jack would not let him repress, and so Jack had to be taken out of the equation.

Sky shot a hand out and latched onto the shoulder of a passing cadet. "Bridge Carson," he snapped. The younger boy only gulped and blinked at the blue ranger, half in awe and half in fear. "Where is Bridge Carson?" Sky repeated, clipping out each word. The cadet shook himself out of his stupor and squeaked, "I think I saw him in the cafeteria." Sky nodded his thanks and changed course, striding down the corridor to his left and leaving the cadet to massage the tender shoulder which was now probably going to bruise from Sky's grip.

Tate stepped through the doorway into the cafeteria and froze when he saw Bridge and Sophie walking together towards a table. _Damn it. I can't talk to Bridge about Sophie when Sophie is standing there. But I can't just let this sit or Jack will make some snide comment and I'll be forced to kill him._ The blue ranger saw his opportunity in two female cadets that entered the room right after him. He stepped back to allow them to pass him, and used his attempt at etiquette to hide himself from Bridge's glance. He snuck his way to an out of the way table, and prepared to wait for duo to separate so he could speak to Bridge immediately.

Sky did not understand what his emotions were doing to him. He never understood emotions at all really. He always repressed them in order to focus on work and his performance. Wasting time to figure out how he _felt_ about things never made sense to him. And it suddenly dawned on the blue ranger that watching Bridge and Sophie laugh together at a table across the room was not the best course of action for someone who never learned to deal with his emotions. Especially from the vantage point he had chosen. He had a direct viewing angle of Bridge's face. He had never considered how much Bridge really did look like a puppy dog sometimes, or how cute he was when he smiled.

_Cute? What the hell Tate? You're a Ranger, not Romeo. Stop swooning like a girl. You have a mission to accomplish._

Sky shook his head and refocused on Sophie and Bridge. Bridge, who was so cute when he laughed. Bridge, who was … taking off his glove?

Sky felt sick. His throat closed up on him as if he were about to cry, but his eyes ached with a lack of tears. His stomach felt cold. Bridge was going to take off his gloves off in a crowded room to feel Sophie's aura. What the hell was he thinking? Sky knew how sensitive Bridge's powers were. It was one thing for Bridge to track the traces of evil after a criminal had left the scene, but reading someone was different. Bridge's psychic powers were like the hearing on a dog. When focused, he could hear the footsteps of evil men because he attuned his hearing to that frequency. But to just take off his glove and read someone's aura in a crowded room was like setting a dog in from of three speakers and blasting rock music through at the highest volume. What if someone in the room was having a bad day? Or someone's mother had died and was depressed? Bridge was just going to subject himself to all those high-intensity emotions at point blank range because it was Sophie?

The green ranger rarely used his powers in situations outside of S.P.D. investigations, and even then he was careful about where he waved his hands. He never even took his gloves off in their bunk, when it was just him and Sky, not even to go to sleep. And because it was Sophie he was going to subject himself to the thoughts, feelings, emotions of an entire roomful of people. It made Sky sick. And cheated. Bridge wouldn't take his gloves off in front of Sky, but for Sophie it was okay? Ever since Bridge had entered the Academy, Sky had been his roommate and friend. But a pretty face was now apparently enough incentive for Bridge to relax and put himself at risk. It wasn't fair. Outrage clawed at Sky's chest. He practically ran from the cafeteria, completely missing Sophie's refusal of Bridge's naked hand. All Sky wanted was to crawl away somewhere and lick his wounds.

Having a cute girl smile at him was more important than a friendship of ten years. How dare he connect on so personal a level with her...

_And not with me._

Sky could not figure out what made him feel more wretched: the thought of Bridge and Sophie, the thought of Bridge not connecting with him, or the thought that **Jack** was right.

He _was_ jealous.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:**_Yeah, so on the last chapter's note when I said 'tomorrow', I totally meant 'a week'._

_

* * *

_**Chapter 4: Blue v. Pink**_  
_

Sky Tate was tired. With training for himself and his squad, training for the D squad, battles with monsters and the Bridge Situation, the blue ranger found himself more exhausted at that moment than he could ever remember being. Usually he wouldn't give in to his body and try to sleep at only 1800 hours, but with the knowledge that he had just removed the threat of Sophie from SPD only a few minutes prior, Sky felt he had earned himself some rest.

"What's your problem, Sky?" Sydney shouted as she burst into the other cadet's room.

So much for peace and quiet. "Back off Syd!" Sky shouted back before grabbing his pillow and shoving it over his head to block out the shouting he was sure would follow.

"No!" Sydney responded, using her short legs to stride over to Sky's bunk and rip the pillow from his grasp. Sky stared up at her moodily, but she wasted no time in getting to the point. "You upset Bridgey, a sin in itself since **nothing** you do is ever wrong in Bridge's eyes, you act angrier and terser than usual all week, and you start expelling cadets without even asking Cruger? And now you're telling me to shut up?" Syd crossed her arms over her chest angrily. "Nuh-uh, no way. Start talking."

Sky produced something between a growl and a sigh as he rolled over in his bed, towards the wall and away from the furious pink ranger. "Nothing to talk about," was his response.

"Oh, don't you dare bullshit me, Sky." Sydney abandoned the pillow, and then stepped onto Sky's bunk and over him, setting herself in a seated position between him and the wall. "I know your games, okay? When you have a problem, you clam up and start working out. You don't open your mouth unless you have to, even when there's a rule being broken right in front of you. Like a cadet entering a fellow cadet's quarters without his permission." Syd lifted a blonde brow expectantly, but Sky only glared at her and then focused his attention on his sheets.

"Sky," Syd tried again, reaching out a hand to maneuver Sky's face so he was actually looking at her. "I've known you 10 years, and I'm the surveillance expert. You know I'm not as dumb as I look. And you know I'm not going to leave this room until you tell me something. Which has the potential for some lovely rumors."

"Agh," Sky moaned, sitting up and crossing his legs. "Fine. I have a problem," he admitted.

Sydney did not even blink as she added two words to his admission. "With Bridge."

Sky shot her a glare, but Syd's cool demeanor told him that nothing he could say could convince her otherwise. "Fine, yes, with Bridge. And Sophie."

"You're jealous."

"Why does everyone have to say that?" Sky exploded as he shot from his bed. "Why? Why would I be jealous?" Tate was now pacing back and forth in front of Sydney, who coolly watched him. She had taken some of Z's advice before coming over here, and was glad of it because this confrontation was resulting in a lot less screaming than she had envisioned.

"Because Bridge has practically been your boyfriend for the past ten years," she answered, her voice free of question or uncertainty.

Sky froze in his stride, goggling at her as if Sydney had just announced her engagement to Piggy. "… WHAT?"

Sighing, Syd rolled her blue eyes and started to explain. "Sky, you're not the most open of guys. You want everyone to believe that Schyuler Tate is the job, that you don't exist outside of that uniform. You almost had me fooled, too. I thought you were obnoxious and when not that, boring. And then one day some of the other kids, a couple years above us, stole one of Bridgey's gloves. Remember?"

Sky shut his eyes as the memory flooded his mind: a 13 year old Bridge, frantic and near tears as he ran from one end of the rec room to the other following his glove as the older students tossed it between them. The laughter and taunts of eight years past echoed in his ears, mixed with Bridge's cries. "Yeah," was Sky's choked reply.

"You stopped them. They were years older, and even Dru who was always attached to your hip was pretending to ignore it. But you threw up a field to intercept the glove and it bounced right into Bridge's chest." Sydney paused in her story-telling, her own memories of the event catching up to her. "He was so exhausted from the emotional overload; he just collapsed right after putting his glove back on. He just crumbled." Shutting her eyes at the memory, she opened them up back on Sky. "Those older kids yelled at you, but you marched right up to Bridge and practically carried him back to your bunks."

Eyes still shut, Sky relived the episode in painful detail. Bridge's face had been so pale and clammy, and every few steps his body would tremor slightly. It was one of the scariest moments of his life. Remembering Syd's presence, he fought for his voice again. "Point?"

"Bridgey makes you human. You only show emotion around him and all your emotion is directed toward him. You love him Sky, plain and simple."

The blue ranger's gaze shot up to match his teammates. "Love?" she scoffed derisively, but something about the way the word felt on his tongue made him swallow his scorn.

"Yes, love," Syd answered, shaking her head of blonde curls. "You know, when you care about someone more than yourself, when you place their happiness above your own, when you get jealous when they show affection to others."

Sky bristled at the truth in Sydney's words. "I'm not a faggot," he asserted, defensively crossing his arms over his chest.

Shock made Sydney hesitate, but was quickly converted to outrage. "Is that why you won't tell Bridge what's going on? That's why you're expelling people on a whim? Because you're homophobic as well as a prick, and scared of what you feel?"

"I'm not homophobic," Sky growled at her.

"As a general rule of thumb, Sky, usually only homophobes use words like 'faggot'." At Sky's lack of response, Syd sighed and stood up from her teammate's bunk. "Deny it all you want Sky, but it's not going to go away. You love Bridge. The signs are all there." She paused at the boys' mirror, checking her reflection before sauntering out the door as if nothing had happened. "And that's my expert opinion."


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:** _... Yeah, I got nothing. It's an unclever day. Enjoy.  
_

_

* * *

_**Chapter 5: Blue v. Green, Round 3**

"You know, Piggy was right. If Sophie wasn't a cyborg, we wouldn't have thrown her out on the street without asking some questions first." The comment was spoken for the consideration of the entire squad, but Bridge's eyes found their way to Sky's when he spoke. It was also an accusation.

Sky's face burned from the gaze directed at him. Bridge was so disappointed and sad; he could not bear to look at him. Syd's remark did not make him feel any better.

"I can't believe I'm prejudiced," she whimpered. _No, you can't believe that because you're not,_ Sky thought to himself._ What you meant to say is you can't believe Sky is prejudiced, selfish, responsible for losing an innocent cadet and putting her in danger. You can't believe how badly I've let you all down. I can't believe how badly I've let him down._

Sky stared at Bridge as the other man continued to paper the street. Somehow during his inner monologue, all the other rangers had disappeared, leaving green and blue alone with each other. It felt odd to Sky. These past couple of days, Bridge had been giving him the cold shoulder, but usually Sky was in a relatively busy public area at the time and could ignore the treatment. They were only alone together in their bunk, and Bridge usually faked sleep then to avoid the awkward silence or the painful conversation. But now it was just the two of them in this lonely little alleyway. Sky needed to make his move.

"Bridge I'm sorry," he rushed out.

To Tate's disappointment, Bridge did not even pause in his actions. "What for Sky?" he asked, his voice a mixture of surprise and innocent laughter. A lump suddenly caught in Sky's throat. Bridge was letting him off. He knew how hard it was for the blue ranger to admit he was wrong, and he was actually going to play Sky's apology off like it was not happening. Sky didn't know whether to feel touched by Bridge's concern or hurt by Bridge's measure of his vanity.

Sky moved in a flash, suddenly centimeters away from Bridge's left shoulder and nearly breathing in his ear. He placed a hand over the flyer that the green ranger was posting, demanding his attention.

"I'm sorry for the way I acted when you asked for advice. I'm sorry for kicking Sophie out. I'm sorry for insulting your integrity. I'm sorry for not being a good friend. I'm sorry for being jealous." _I'm sorry for choosing to stand so close to you like this._ Sky's apology was sincere, but had come out a little huskier than intended. It was a strange sensation, Sky decided, to be told you love someone and then find yourself as close to that someone as you can be without touching, alone in some private alleyway with the knowledge that your friends think you are working and should not be looking for you for a while. Suddenly you start to notice things, like the way Bridge's hair tapers at the nape of his neck, the way he smells, the slight tremble and scant goose pimples that follow every time you breath at his ear, the way he licks his lips, and how easy it would be just reach out and pull him into your chest, trail kisses up his neck, nibble at his ear, make him gasp and moan and …

Bridge's reply brought him back to reality. Sky found himself flushed and breathing far too heavily. No, he was not the only one breathing heavily. Was Bridge reacting to him like was Bridge? Did Bridge maybe feel the same way about him and Sky, being Sky, had missed it? His stomach did a summersault as he whispered at Bridge's ear again, the slight tremor in his friend's body bringing a smile to his face. "What was that?"

"I said, 'Why?'" Bridge managed, his voice strained. "Why would you be jealous, Sky? I mean, all you had to do was say something and I would have backed off. There's no way she would have chosen me over you."

Sky's mind went blank. His thoughts moved slowly, as if there were fighting quicksand and his fleeting fantasy that Bridge liked him back was sinking terrifyingly quickly. "What?"

"I mean, now that we know she's a cyborg, I could just program her to like you. No problem." Bridge's voice could have been called harsh, but it was obvious that this was not a tone in which he was accustomed to speaking. He spoke too loudly and backed away from Sky too quickly for his comment to be scathing. Instead of embarrassing Sky, it just made him sad. He had no idea what Bridge thought of him anymore. And Bridge's opinion was all that mattered at that moment.

"Bridge," he started, but the pained expression in Bridge's eyes cut him short. The anger, frustration and sadness he saw there were not directed at him, but being confronted with the fact that Bridge was hurting so badly was like a punch in the gut. He struggled to regain his train of thought. "That's not what I meant," was his weak reply.

Bridge's expression only grew more pained. "I don't care what you _meant_ anymore, Sky." The blue ranger took a step forward, mouth opening to try and make things better, but Carson held up a gloved hand. "Just shut up." Sky blinked and shut his mouth immediately, while Bridge struggled to keep himself from screaming or crying or both. "I'm tired of it. I'm tired of being yanked around like nothing. One minute you're my best friend and the next I'm just a part of the squad. You can't play with people like that, Sky."

Sky wanted to respond. He wanted to tell Bridge that he had it all wrong, but he could not think of a way to explain himself. He wanted to apologize and say he was sorry a thousand times, but he knew that Bridge would not listen. He wanted to say something, but nothing would make their immediate situation any better. So he stood there, gazing back at Bridge as contritely as he could manage. And Bridge stared back, then shut his eyes and shook his head. "We don't have time for this. We need to find Sophie."

The green ranger strode down the alley and quickly found Syd who was coming around the corner, apparently looking for them. Sky bit his bottom lip and followed.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note:** _Apologies for not updating this story in a month! I'm thoroughly shamed. It's almost over. Don't worry. Also, many thanks to Silvered for reading this over and helping me to figure out Z. Cheers!_

_

* * *

_

**Chapter 6: Blue v. Yellow**

"Look, Z, I don't know what you're thinking. _Are_ you even are thinking?" Sky whined as he was pulled down the hallways of SPD. He had been getting ready for bed when the fierce looking yellow ranger had burst out from around a corner and grabbed a hold of his arm. Too emotionally exhausted to fight, he had let her drag him along, but after wandering down two levels and to the other end of the SPD building, Sky was starting to get annoyed.

"Less talking, more walking," was the yellow ranger's clipped reply. She was moving quickly down the corridor, a hand securely clamped over Sky's wrist. Looking nearly ready for bed herself, she had her hair up in a messy ponytail and was wearing her pajamas.

Sky sighed and put his foot down, literally. He stopped walking, and, having at least half a foot and fifty pounds on the lithe Delgado, pulled her to a stop with him. "I'm not moving until you tell me what's going on," he announced, wrestling his hand away from his fellow ranger in order to fold his arms across his chest.

Z glared weakly at Sky as she rolled her shoulder. The sudden stop had pulled at the muscles there, tweaking the joint. "This thing between you and Bridge," she started to explain, strengthening her glare when Tate started to interrupt her. He shut his mouth as she continued. "Whatever is going on with you two, it's not working. It really has to stop."

"I know," Sky responded, arms falling out of their defensive position. "I tried to apologize, but it just didn't work out."

"You … apologized?" Z asked incredulously. At the blue ranger's scowl, she held up her hands in defeat. "Ok, I believe you," was the quick addition. "I just thought I could help you out a little. That maybe we could discuss it over some hot chocolate?" she suggested sweetly.

Tate's dejected expression softened, but only marginally. "I don't drink hot chocolate."

Z rolled her eyes. "Of course not. Tea, then!"

Sky didn't say anything, but started walking toward the cafeteria again, now that he knew their destination. The yellow ranger followed behind, and as they reached the doors to the café, cloned herself. It was the only way to physically keep Sky from running down the hall.

"Z! You said it would be just you and me!" he snarled at her over his shoulder.

"No," she grunted, one shoulder pressed against Tate's back, her copy doing the same. "I said 'we' could discuss it. You didn't ask if 'we' included Bridge."

Which it did. The green ranger had been at a table, waiting for Z to arrive as he munched sullenly on his toast. The yellow ranger had come to him earlier in the evening with much the same proposition as she had given Sky, but he had agreed readily, whereas Sky required physical persuasion.

Sky made an exasperated noise and gave in, swatting Zs' arms away from him. Both Zs gave a sigh of relief and melted back into one. The blue ranger eyed his yellow companion suspiciously. "You were sent to negotiate some kind of truce, weren't you?"

"Oh no, Sky," the girl responded with a smile, directing the taller young man towards Bridge's table by his elbow. "We're past negotiating. We've now moved into the ass-kicking phase. As in, I kick your ass if you two don't settle this." She maneuvered him into a chair and rather forcefully patted him on the shoulder.

Bridge avoided eye contact with both rangers as they each took a seat at his table: Sky directly across from him and Z equidistant between them. He didn't want to talk to Sky, but wasn't childish enough to pretend he wasn't there and only greet Z, so he kept his attention focused on his food.

"So, we're here because you two have been having some problems," Z opened as she settled into her seat. "Jack, Syd and I know that you can't pretend that nothing is happening for very much longer, or else it will start to affect your work, your relationships with us, and Cruger will get pissy. So we decided, as your friends, that it would be best if you were forced to work out your problems. I'm here as a mediator," she explained coolly, smiling demurely at each of them.

"Now, from what I've heard, this whole thing started when Bridge asked Sky for some dating advice?" Her voice was gentle as she turned her attention to the green ranger.

Bridge made a face but kept his gaze down, breaking his toast into smaller pieces. Sky itched at the silence, Bridge's very presence making him nervous, and felt the need to answer. "Yes, I blew him off and acted like a jerk," he replied anxiously.

The green ranger lifted one eyebrow in surprise at how quickly and contritely Tate responded, but continued to stay mute.

Z frowned at Carson's lack of response, and then looked to the blue ranger. "Do you want to explain why you acted that way?" she asked scathingly.

"I was jealous," he stated matter-of-factly, blue gaze firmly attached to the man across from him. "Not jealous because I wanted to date Sophie, but because I wanted to be with Bridge." Sky paused then decided to bite the bullet. "Because I'm in love with him."

Bridge nearly choked on his toast.

Z glanced between two rangers on either side of her. Sky was watching Bridge intently, looking slightly concerned at his coughing fit. But mostly he looked completely earnest, nervous and scared. Not at all the cool, calm and collected, all-business Schuyler Tate to which the B Squad was accustomed. Bridge, on the other hand, was guzzling his milk, looking everywhere but at Sky. He looked extremely flustered and was even blushing.

"On second thought," Z muttered, considering the situation quickly as she stood up from her chair. "I think that maybe you guys can work this out without a mediator," she said before slipping out the door, slightly embarrassed but greatly amused.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Blue v. Green, Final Round  
**

The door slid shut behind the retreating yellow ranger, leaving Sky and Bridge alone in the quiet of the empty eating commons. Bridge finished guzzling his glass of milk and set it back down on the table, but pointedly directed his gaze on the empty vessel.

And not at Sky.

The blue ranger reached out to grab Bridge's hand away from the glass, then thought better of it and set his hand on the table. He had not really thought about how his friend would react to the declaration; he just knew that he had to say it. Sky let a few more seconds of silence pass, and then scooted his chair closer to Bridge so that they were sitting beside each other. He tried again.

"Bridge, please. You have to say something," he pleaded. If his friend did not feel the same way, Sky could deal with that. He could back off and act as though nothing had happened, because no matter what he valued Bridge too highly to make him uncomfortable. But Bridge had to say something in order for Sky to act accordingly.

The green ranger blinked several times, as if processing some information, then started to speak. "Are you sure you're in love with me, Sky? I mean, really, people use that word so often without thinking about the implications behind it. Jack said just yesterday that he loves pizza, but Syd loves her parents. So do they each love pizza and parents equally? Does it make the pizza worse as a thing if Syd loves her parents more than Jack loves pizza? But Jack never had the chance to have the kind of relationship with his parents as Syd has with hers, so does that mean that this is an unfair analysis? Or does love work on an individual scale rather than universal? Is one's ability to love or not love someone or something imprinted on the genes like one's hair or eye color? Maybe that's what it means to be soul mates: to find someone who's very being causes a reaction in oneself that makes it impossible to function properly without that other. Maybe in such a case the word 'love' does not really apply, since it's a verb and a verb requires doing, but in that case it's not a matter of doing so much as being, so a verb like 'to love' would not be applicable."

Sky decided that trying to hold Bridge's hand was a stupid idea, and used both hands to cup the green ranger's face and force his eyes to meet Sky's. "Bridge!" He suspected that the brunette was just trying to distract him, but he wouldn't succeed. Bridge continued to ramble on and on, and Sky tuned him out in order to get his message across to the other man. "Stop trying – "

"I love you too, Sky."

Lips frozen halfway through forming the word 'to', Tate stared at the other ranger in surprise. "You do?" he asked cautiously.

"Yeah. Haven't you been listening?" Bridge looked at the blue ranger expectantly, as if waiting for a lesson to be recited.

"Uh," Tate stuttered, wracking his brain for what bits of Bridge's circular logic had actually stuck. "Love is a matter of 'being', not 'doing?"

The green ranger's face lit up in a bright smile. "Exactly. I can't choose to love you or not to love you, Sky. It's a part of who I am now, just like being a ranger or liking toast."

Sky frowned slightly as he considered this. "How long … has loving me been a part of you?"

"Definitely since our promotion from D Squad three years ago," he answered without thinking.

"Three years?" Sky echoed in shock. "Why didn't you say anything?"

Bridge shrugged nonchalantly, as if the answer were obvious. "You didn't love me then. I mean, you liked me and were my friend, but it wasn't a part of you. It hadn't occurred to you."

The blue ranger continued to gaze at him in surprise. _He's right, but now that I think about it, how could I have not seen it? Aside from being red ranger, Bridge was always what I cared about most in SPD. The only reason I would harp on him is because I wanted him to succeed, but mostly because I was too protective of him to let anyone else criticize him and maybe hurt him. God, when did his eyes get so blue? They're like the deep sea and I could dive right into them. Come to think of it, there are other parts of Bridge I could dive right into._

The green ranger cleared his throat uncomfortably. A hint of red was spread over his cheeks. "Uh, Sky. You're … touching me," he pointed out.

"Oh," he answered, breaking out of his daze. "Sorry."

He started to pull his hands away, but Bridge caught him by the wrists. He leaned forwards, not breaking eye contact with Sky. "No, I meant, you're touching me. I picked up on pretty much everything going on in your head just now."

"Oh!" Sky repeated, a little more alarmed this time. He blushed much harder than Bridge had and ducked his head down.

Bridge took advantage of Sky's lack of awareness and made his move. He released Tate's wrists, moving his right hand to the back of Sky's neck. The blue ranger raised his face at the feel of leather touching his skin. They were close enough that once Sky leaned forward slightly, Bridge was able to press Sky's lips against his.

The kiss was gentle at first, but within five seconds both parties knew what they were doing. Sky slid his fingers into Bridge's hair, his thumb soft against Bridge's cheek. Bridge's lips parted and Sky slipped his tongue into his warm mouth. It tasted of butter and he had to smile into the kiss, because it tasted like Bridge.

The green ranger broke away first, resting his forehead against Sky's as he took a few steadying breaths. "Sky, you have to promise me something."

"Yeah huh," he answered distractedly, leaving light kisses on the corner of Bridge's mouth and the lines of his lips.

Bridge pulled back a bit, licking his lips where Sky had just kissed him. Sky fought to break his attention away from Bridge's tongue and to his eyes. "Promise?"

"If we start something, we're starting something. I meant what I said the other day in the alley." Sky tensed slightly at the memory, but continued to devote his attention to Bridge. "I know you won't want to go parading this around, and that's fine. But don't go pushing me away or think you need to compensate for something by being harsher on me in public."

Sky knew this was a reasonable request, but he also knew himself. It would be a difficult promise to keep. "I'll try," he answered truthfully.

That seemed to be the right answer, because the green ranger broke into another genuine smile. "Good." He swooped in and pressed a grateful kiss on Sky's lips. Just as Sky was about to return it, Bridge added, "Oh yeah, another thing."

Sky raised both his eyebrows in slight annoyance. "Be nicer to Sophie," Bridge requested.

The blue ranger laughed. "Definitely. Anything else?" he asked, not eager to be distracted from kissing Bridge for a good while.

Bridge directed his gaze upward in thought, a smirk playing on his lips. "Maybe we should take this back to our room?"

_Our room. _Sky's eyes light up as he remembered that his boyfriend was also his roommate. "Yes. Yes, yes, yes, yes." He stood up quickly, grabbing Bridge by the front of his t-shirt and walked towards the door. Bridge placed his hands on Sky's hips to balance himself, following eagerly and laying kisses on Sky whenever he got close enough. They moved like this down the corridors, careful to not be so loud as to disturb anyone, until they reached the safety of their bunk.


	8. Chapter 8

**Epilogue: Because 'Shadow' Isn't A Color**

Syd, Z and Jack watched the events unfold from the kitchen. Syd had commandeered some of the SPD surveillance equipment earlier in the day, telling Boom that she wanted to re-familiarize herself with it. A microphone was taped to the underside of Bridge and Sky's table, and the trio had listened to the entire conversation covertly. When the conversation stopped, Jack would poke his head through the kitchen door, making sure he wasn't noticed, and reported the details back to the girls, much to their disappointment. They would rather have seen all the action with their own eyes, but hearing about it was better than nothing. After Sky and Bridge had retreated from the cafeteria, the three rangers entered into the vacated room.

"Oh, man, I can't believe they finally did it!" Z crooned, pleased with the small part she had to play in the romance.

"Yup, and now that Sky and Bridge are very much the happy couple, that will put all those rumors about _me_ and Sky to rest," Syd added as she retrieved the microphone.

Jack raised an eyebrow. "You know, I know of another way we could put those rumors to rest," he commented silkily.

"Not on your life," Syd shot back without even looking up from her work.

Jack scoffed and made a disappointed face, while Z just patted him on the shoulder. "She's a cold, hard bitch. I told you so," she said.

Just as she finished speaking, the doors to the cafeteria opened and Commander Cruger stepped inside. He coldly looked over each of the three rangers, who had overcome their initial shock to snap to attention. Doggie groaned softly, as now the image of the three of them would be burned in his mind forever: Z in a tank top and starred pajama bottoms, Jack in a red wife beater and his plaid boxer shorts, and Syd in a pink t-shirt that said "princess" in white, short shorts, giant pink bunny slippers and wrapped up in a fluffy pink robe. All standing at attention. These were his rangers. And they looked ridiculous.

"Rangers," he growled. "Do you have any _good_ reason for being out of bed and roaming the complex at this hour?"

"Sir, no sir," they responded, because they had no other answer.

Doggie's growl grew. "Then get outta here!" he barked, sending them all scurrying for the exit.

Z and Jack sprinted down the hall and around a corner, and Syd followed as best she could, but running on a polished surface in fuzzy slippers isn't easy. When she reached her two fellow rangers, she gasped. "Oh no!"

Jack frowned at her. "What?"

"I got the microphone, but I left the player sitting on the counter!" Syd cried, worry painting her features.

The red ranger cursed softly under his breath and hit his head against the wall.

"Well, we can't go back for it now," Z reasoned. "Maybe Cruger won't even notice it. We'll get up early tomorrow and grab it before anyone notices."

Syd made a face when Z said 'early', but having no other option, she agreed. They all went back to their bunks to sleep.

Cruger, however, did find the player. He chuckled softly after listening to the tape, and then pocketed the device before heading to bed with his mug of warm milk. "It's about time."


End file.
